Meaningful endings and mixed emotions: The double-edged sword of reminiscence on good times.

Meaningful endings lead people to experience mixed emotions, but it is unclear why. We hypothesized that it is in part because meaningful endings lead people to reminisce on good times. In Study 1, college students who took part in our study on their graduation day (vs. a typical day) reported having spent more time that day reminiscing on good times. Moreover, reminiscence on good times partially mediated the effect of graduation on happiness, sadness, and mixed emotions. In Study 2, we asked undergraduates to reminisce on good (vs. ordinary) times from high school and found that reminiscence on good times elicited happiness, sadness, and mixed emotions. In Study 3, we found that reminiscing on good times that were not (vs. were) repeatable elicited especially intense sadness and mixed emotions. Taken together, results indicate that reminiscing on good times, especially good times gone, elicits mixed emotions and that these emotional consequences help explain why meaningful endings elicit mixed emotions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Leveraging goals to incentivize healthful behaviors across adulthood.

Despite abundant evidence for the benefits of physical activity on aging trajectories, older Americans remain largely inactive. The present study was designed to examine age differences in responsiveness to financial incentives to increase walking. Grounded in socioemotional selectivity theory, we examined the effectiveness of financial incentives that varied in prosociality. Three types of incentives were presented to community-residing adults 18-92 years of age (N = 450). Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 conditions: personal, loved one, charity, choice, or a no-incentive control group. Average daily step counts were measured using pedometers during a baseline week, during the incentivized period, and after the incentivized period ended. Overall, financial incentives significantly increased walking compared to a control group. Whereas personal incentives were effective regardless of age, incentives to earn for charities were starkly more effective in older adults than younger adults. Moreover, 1 week after the incentivized period ended, older participants were more likely to maintain increased step counts, whereas younger people reverted to baseline step counts. Findings suggest that financial incentives can increase walking in a wide age range and that charitable incentives may be especially effective in health interventions targeting older adults. The importance of aligning incentives with age-related goals is discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Valuing calm enhances enjoyment of calming (vs. exciting) amusement park rides and exercise.

Do people derive more enjoyment from activities that match how they ideally want to feel (their "ideal affect")? Affect valuation theory (AVT) predicts that they do; however, no study has directly examined whether this is the case. Therefore, the authors conducted 4 studies that examined whether valuing calm and other low arousal positive states (LAP) increased enjoyment of calming (vs. exciting) activities. In Study 1, the more participants valued LAP, the more enjoyment they recalled during calming (vs. exciting) episodes from their lives. In Studies 2-3, the more participants valued LAP, the more enjoyment they experienced during calming (vs. exciting) amusement park rides, both in the United States and Hong Kong. To assess causality, in Study 4, participants were randomly assigned to either a "value LAP" or control condition and then engaged in either low or high intensity exercise. Participants in the value LAP condition who engaged in low intensity exercise reported greater enjoyment than those who engaged in high intensity exercise; these differences did not emerge in the control condition. People's trait levels of experienced LAP ("actual LAP") were not related to their enjoyment of calming (vs. exciting) activities. Together, these findings provide evidence that people derive more enjoyment from activities that match their ideal affect. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for AVT as well as interventions aimed at enhancing well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record

Beyond emotional benefits: physical activity and sedentary behaviour affect psychosocial resources through emotions.

Physical activity is known to improve emotional experiences, and positive emotions have been shown to lead to important life outcomes, including the development of psychosocial resources. In contrast, time spent sedentary may negatively impact emotional experiences and, consequently, erode psychosocial resources. Two studies tested whether activity independently influenced emotions and psychosocial resources, and whether activity indirectly influenced psychosocial resources through emotional experiences. Using cross-sectional (Study 1a) and longitudinal (Study 1b) methods, we found that time spent physically active independently predicted emotions and psychosocial resources. Mediation analyses suggested that emotions may account for the relation between activity and psychosocial resources. The improved emotional experiences associated with physical activity may help individuals build psychosocial resources known to improve mental health. Study 1a provided first indicators to suggest that, in contrast, sedentary behaviour may reduce positive emotions, which could in turn lead to decrements in psychosocial resources.

Exercise holds immediate benefits for affect and cognition in younger and older adults.

Physical activity is associated with improved affective experience and enhanced cognitive processing. Potential age differences in the degree of benefit, however, are poorly understood because most studies examine either younger or older adults. The present study examined age differences in cognitive performance and affective experience immediately following a single bout of moderate exercise. Participants (144 community members aged 19 to 93) were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions: (a) exercise (15 min of moderate intensity stationary cycling) or (b) control (15 min completing ratings of neutral IAPS images). Before and after the manipulation, participants completed tests of working memory and momentary affect experience was measured. Results suggest that exercise is associated with increased levels of high-arousal positive affect (HAP) and decreased levels of low-arousal positive affect (LAP) relative to control condition. Age moderated the effects of exercise on LAP, such that younger age was associated with a drop in reported LAP postexercise, whereas the effects of exercise on HAP were consistent across age. Exercise also led to faster RTs on a working memory task than the control condition across age. Self-reported negative affect was unchanged. Overall, findings suggest that exercise may hold important benefits for both affective experience and cognitive performance regardless of age.

Acute exercise attenuates negative affect following repeated sad mood inductions in persons who have recovered from depression.

Identifying factors that may protect individuals from developing Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in the face of stress is critical. In the current study we experimentally tested whether such a potentially protective factor, engaging in acute exercise, reduces the adverse effects of repeated sad mood inductions in individuals who have recovered from depression. We hypothesized that recovered depressed participants who engage in acute exercise report a smaller increase in negative affect (NA) and a smaller decrease in positive affect (PA) when exposed to a repeated sad mood induction (i.e., habituation), whereas participants who do not exercise show sensitization (i.e., increased NA and decreased PA in response to a repeated adverse stimulus). Forty-one women recovered from MDD and 40 healthy control women were randomly assigned to either exercise for 15 minutes or quiet rest. Afterward, participants were exposed to two sad mood inductions and reported their levels of affect throughout the study. Recovered depressed participants who had not exercised exhibited higher NA after the second sad mood induction, a finding consistent with sensitization. In contrast, both recovered depressed participants who had engaged in acute exercise and healthy control participants showed no increase in NA in response to the repeated sad mood induction. Participants who exercised reported higher PA after the exercise bout; however, our hypothesis concerning reported PA trajectories following the sad mood inductions was not supported. Results suggest that exercise can serve as a protective factor in the face of exposure to repeated emotional stressors, particularly concerning NA in individuals who have recovered from depression.